Google Docs

Google Docs is a suite of productivity applications - word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software - that allows you to create and collaborate on documents online. Access Google Docs through the Gmail link in myHumboldt.

In addition to creating new documents in Google Docs, you can also upload and work on files in most popular formats, including DOC, XLS, ODT, ODS, RTF, CSV, and PPT. Editing is intuitive and uses the same familiar commands as both GMail and traditional desktop productivity programs.

Google Docs also includes a basic drawing program and a simple forms generator.

Note that, if you wish to download Google Docs into Microsoft Office, you need to have at least Office 2010; as of October 1, 2012, Google Docs no long supports documents in the Office 2007 (.doc, .xls, .ppt) format.

Google Docs uses the term "collections" to describe groups of related documents. Collections are similar to the Labels you use in GMail - like tagging (but unlike folders), documents can exist in more than one collection simultaneously.

Google Updates

Google is a dynamic environment, and the company frequently updates or otherwise tweaks many of its services in response to user feedback. You can keep tabs on Google's planned and implemented changes on their What's New? site.

Access Google Docs online by logging into myHumboldt with your HSU User Name and Password, clicking on the Gmail link, and selecting Documents in the Google menu bar.

Include forms, surveys and drawings. Google Docs includes a basic drawing program and a forms creator.

Google Docs is designed to support collaboration; documents are stored online and can be shared with as many or as few people as you wish. For example, if you are leading a project team, just set up a "collection" for that project, tag all relevant documents with the collection name and set access so that only members of the project team can open or review those documents.

Like other myHumboldt applications, Google Docs is also subject to an inactivity timeout for security purposes; however, Google allows 1-3 days of inactivity before automatically shutting the aplication down. Bear in mind that myHumboldt itself has an inactivity timeout of 45 minutes, which overrides the Google timeout.